Portable folding seat.



C. WILCKERLING & H. T. REDISKE.

PORTABLE FOLDING SEAT.

APPLIOATION FILED JULY 12, 1907.

936,502. Patented 0@1;.12,1909.

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PORTABLE FOLDING SEAT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 12, 1969.

Application filed July 12, 1907. Serial No. 383,365.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, CONRAD VVILoKnR- Line and HERMAN T. R-EDISKE, residing in Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented new and useful Improvements in Port-able Folding Seats, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawmgs, which are a part of this specification.

Our invention has relation ments in portable folding seats.

One of the objects contemplated .is to provide a folding seat wherein simplicity of construction and adaptability for collapsing into small compass for convenience in carrying from place to place are attained.

A further object is to provide a folding seat with a yielding back adapted to yield under pressure to form a comfortable back rest.

A further object is to provide a folding seat adapted to be easily and quickly at tached to a boat seat, to the bleachers at a ball game, at the circus, or such similar places where seats are usually provided without backs.

lVit-h the above, and other incidental ob-- jects in view, the invention consists of the devices and parts, or their equivalents, as hereinafter set forth.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a side elevation of the seat disposed on a boat seat or a bleacher board, the seat or board being in section; Fig. 2 is a front eleation thereof; Fig. 3 is a side view of the seat, folded and strapped for convenience in carrying. Fig. t is a view of the folded seat at right angles to Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a fragment of the front edge of the seat with the locking member swung up to allow the withdrawal of the spring clip, the spring clip being in section; Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 but with the locking member in position to prevent the withdrawal of the spring clip; and Fig. 7 is a sectional View of a fragment or the seat taken on line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

Referring to the drawings, the numeral 8 indicates a seat member formed of a number of slats 9 attached to a canvas top 10 by any well known means, nails preferably being 'used. The rear slat is made wider to improvethan the other slats and a portion is made thicker thereby providing additional strength for a hinge connection thereto. A back member 11 also formed of a number of slats 12 attached to a canvas front 13 is hinged to the seat member by hinges 14 which adapts the back member to be folded down on the seat member. The lower slat of the back member is made wider and at its lower edge is thicker forming a shoulder 15 adapted to engage the end of the seat member and prevent the back member swinging beyond its upright position.

The back member being composed of a number of slats attached to a canvas front will permit it to yield to the pressure of the back of the person sitting on the seat and act somewhat as a spring back seat. When considerable pressure is exerted against the back the seat member will have a tendency to spring upwardly, and as the front strip of the seat member is securely held to the supporting means, the middle portion of the seatmember will tend to curve upwardly forming a comfortable seat with a curved surface not unlike an ordinary chair.

A spring clip 16 is removably connected to the front strip of the seat member by means of the upper bent portion thereof being dovetailed into the front strip of the seat member. In order to prevent wear and to more securely hold the spring clip to the seat member, the groove forming part of the dovetail is lined with a sheet metal strip 17 formed angularly to conform to the shape of the slat, and the tongue portion 18 of the spring clip is beveled to accurately fit the metal lined groove and is adapted to be removed therefrom by sliding lengthwise. To prevent the accidental withdrawal of the spring clip 16, a locking means is provided consisting of a latch 19 pivoted at one end to the front edge of the front strip of the seat member and positioned to swing down to a horizontal position in front of the spring clip 16, its free end being slotted to engage a pin 20. It will thus be seen that when the latch is in the position as shown in Fig. 2 the spring clip is securely locked in place and when the latch is swung to the position shown in Fig. 5 the spring clip is free to be withdrawn from the seat member. The spring clip, which is of spring metal, is so shaped that the lower arm thereof Will slip beneath the board forming the seat of a boat or a bleacher and thus prevent the seat tilting backwardly when a person is seated thereon. In order to hold the seat in its open position a strap 21 connected to the rear edge of the seat member is adapted to engage a buckle 22 connected to the upper slat of the seat back, so that when the strap is connected to the buckle and drawn tightly the seat back will be held in its vertical position yieldingly. If desired the back may be inclined rearwardly by drawing very tightly on the strap which will stretch the canvas front and allow the upper slats to swing rearwardly slightly. The lower end of the strap is provided. with a buckle 23 for convenience in strapping the seat together in its folded position. A binding is placed over the edge of the canvas and tacked to the slats to give the chair a more finished appearance. The slat and canvas construction of the seat and back members permits the seat to be rolled into a very small bundle for convenience in carrying, or the back member may be folded onto the seat member, by means of the hinge connection between the two thus forming a fiat bundle for carrying. The seat portion may be made of one piece if desired without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

In using this seat in connection with a bleacher or a boat seat it is only necessary to unfold the same, place on the board forming the seat with the lower arm of the spring clip disposed beneath the board and connect the strap to the buckle on the seat back. In folding the seat the back and the seat portions are rolled together as shown in Fig. 3 and strapped together, or if a smaller roll is desired the spring clip is removed which will permit the parts being rolled closer together, or as before mentioned the seat and the back portions may be folded to gether forming a flat bundle. The seat may also be used on a flat surface or on the ground by removing the spring clip. Furthermore, a more compact bundle may be made by rolling the back member first, and in this form of the device the spring clip forms a convenient handle by means of which the bundle may be carried;

W'h at we claim as our invention is:

1. A portable folding seat, comprising a seat member formed of slats connected to a flexible material, slats connected to a flexible material forming a back member, a spring clip removably dovetailed to the seat mem ber, a pivoted latch for locking the spring clip to the seat member, and flexible means for holding the members yieldingly and in an open position.

2. A portable folding seat, comprising a seat member formed of slats connected to a canvas top, a back member formed of slats connected to a canvas front, a spring clip removably dovetailed to one of the slats forming the seat member, a latch for locking the spring clip to the slat, and flexible means for holding the members yieldingly and in an open position and also adapted to hold the members in a folded position.

In testimony whereof, we afiix our sign-m tures, in presence of two witnesses.

CONRAD WVILCKERLING. HERMAN T. REDISKE.

\Vitnesses ANNA F. SCI-IMIDTBAUER, R. S. C. CALDWELL. 

